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Next time you travel for some outdoor entertainment, forget waterlogged tents and try out this out-of-this-world portable hotel room.

Something Awful’s forum member Bruiser has built a 535-foot long version of the slip’n slide. Lubed with ten gallons of mineral oil, the approximate cost $3,000 dollars after materials and labor. It is no doubt homemade, but a lot of thought that went into its creation. To put this monstrous slip n’ slide together an engineer was called for help. It’s so long that you can’t even see the bottom from the top of the slide.

Take a look at the pictures below.

Though the pictures make me feel bit scary but, I would definitely love to take a ride.

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Source: Gizmodo

Every one of us wishes to take a break from this hectic routine and relax in a place where we can pamper our bodies and rejuvenate our mind and soul. What better option than spas? More and more spas are opening around the world. While most of them take pride in keeping up with the latest trends, there are many which are looking to past for inspiration in everything from decor to botanical remedies.

The spas are focusing on offering pain relief in along-with comfort and connections to history. The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg, West Baden Springs Hotel and Spa, Bedford Springs Resort and the Beach Plum Spa in Plymouth are the finest examples of recently opened spas that are inspired from the past and are well connected with historic properties.

The website SixNewThings.com that marks down distinguished new destinations, recently did a roundup of six recently opened spas and founded that half of them were connected to historic properties.

The happy marriage of modern spas and historic places is a way to heal physical woes and a remedy to rootlessness. These spas aim at pampering their guests and making them aware of the history.

Source: USA Today

For some ambitious travelers, there’s always a new destination to visit every New Year’s Eve. Of all these international travel destinations, only five of them made it to the Sherman’s list. Goa (India), Aspen (Colorado, US), Barcelona(Spain), Bangkok(Thailand), and Edinburgh(Scotland) are five great choices listed by Sherman. Although New Year is not quite there yet, this would be a good time to book your airplane tickets and hotel rooms at these places.

If you are tired of watching the descending ball of Times Square every New Year eve, you can visit one of the above mentioned locations. I am sure it will be different!

*Goa(India): The breath taking beaches, and the lush green of Goa, on the Western coast of India makes this a great destination. During the eve, a lot of travel packages are offered to the tourists. These include airport/ Madgaon Railway station transfers as well. As the dusk turns into dawn, people celebrate away on the seaside. The techno music, and the great beach parties are something that Goa boasts about.

*Aspen, Colorado(US): Remember the movie ‘Dumb and Dumber?’ That’s what Aspen reminds me of. For those who like making snow angels while watching fireworks, Aspen is the place to be. The gourmet cuisine, awesome slopes and a great crowd of rich and famous makes Aspen a good spot to visit during the New Year’s Eve.

*Barcelona, Spain: Here, the visitor gets to enjoy the Spanish version of New Year celebration: ano Nuevo. When the clock strikes the midnight hour (12 AM), the people traditionally stuff their face with 12 good luck grapes: sorta like a lucky charm.

*Bangkok, Thailand: In the Far east, the eve is celebrated differently. Although there is the must see fireworks display, Bangkok offers a lot more. The central world plaza is where the drama unfolds. Sadly, last year’s festivities got canceled due to Tsunami. So people are ever anxious to witness the upcoming countdown to a western new year!

*Edinburgh, Scotland is the last one on the list. The Hogmanay is the Scottish new year bash. Major international artists perform on the Princes street during Royal Bank street party. I think this sounds like a fun crowd and party.

So, if you are that keen on celebrating New Year’s away from home; throw your party hat on and get ready for the best New Year countdown. I am considering Barcelona.

Image Credits:2camels,, Wikimedia, 2Bangkok

After the launch of an indoor ski resort inside the shopping complex in Dubai, things are really taking off. Recently, Dubai opened an ice lounge called Chill out. So, when the mercury soars like crazy outside, you can throw a couple of layers on and enjoy the indoor cold weather, while chilling out in this new ice lounge.

In this lounge, almost everything is sculpted out of ice. It is indeed an unique concept. This bar and restaurant is a place for middle eastern men in white robes accompanied by their wives in black cloaks. Some of these people are enjoying their first cold weather experience indoors. For the Western visitors, it is just a way to make them feel at home with cold.

Everything including the walls, furniture, cups and plates and even glasses are made out of ice! You can order a customized mocktail. The bar sells drinks like Lawrence of Arabia, Chill out mix, Canadian MT Logan, etc. Even though this attracts a lot of impressed visitors, some are clearly not that fascinated. People who hate cold walk out after a few minutes in 6 degree C (21 deg F).

Just like any other bar, Chill out has a cover charge. It charges about 60 dirhams(17 USD) to its visitors. For the price, you get a rented hooded parka that keeps you pretty toasty, woolen gloves as well as insulated shoes. Also, the cover pays for one drink. If you want to get wasted you will just have to pay out of your own pocket.

I think in this is a great place to enjoy the cold. Also, I think with the architectural genius should be appreciated. A combination of steel and crystal clear ice creates a great sanctum for the first time visitors. Looks like the Sharaf group did a great job after all.

Image Credits: Iht, Ameinfo

Now it’ll be possible to see the earth from a distance. Yes you’ve read it right! Galactic Suite, the first orbiting hotel planned in space is expected to open for business in 2012. The hotel will allow you to travel around the world in 80 minutes.

Galactic Suite would consist of pod-like rooms and a spa room with floating bubbles of water. You’ll have to wear velcro suits and crawl around the rooms to stick yourselves to the wall in a Spiderman style. Bathrooms will be in zero gravity.

Any space trip isn’t cheap, and this is no exception. For $4.15 million dollars you’ll get a three-day stay in which you’ll see the sun rise each day 15 times. The cost not only includes the trip into space and the stay at the hotel, it also covers eight weeks training at a James Bond-style space camp on a tropical island.

Now, if you can afford to shell out this amount to spend for a holiday in space then wait till next year to get your seat reserved.

Source: The Age

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Traveling to another country can often cause health discomfort especially when you travel to a country where the climate and social conditions are different from yours. You would definitely not want your vacation to be spoiled. To make sure that health problem will not be on your way, you need take proper care of your eating habits, packing your medicine kit and other health issues.

Consulting a physician or travel medicine clinic at least four to six weeks before travel is preferable. A health professional can very well assess your individual need for immunization or preventive medication.

Besides standard stateside vaccinations, you may need other vaccines to protect you from diseases found at the place which you are traveling to. For up-to-date health advisories of every region of the world and suggested immunization, you can log on to Traveler’s Health Web site

Women should not forget to take Cystex along as they are more prone to develop urinary tract infections, especially when traveling in areas with few bathrooms.

Prescription medications, antidiarrheals such as Imodium, basic pain reliever (Motrin, Tylenol or Advil), sunscreens, insect repellents and allergy medicines are the travel necessities.

While you travel by plane, germs are transmitted through recirculated air. Not only this, dry air in planes can cause dehydration, so you should avoid substances that strip water from the body. Avoid alcohol and caffeine.

Water is good for health and while you travel, sip a lot of water but be careful of the water quality overseas. Check the water-bottle seal before you buy it. Make sure it hasn’t been refilled with local water. You also need to be careful of what food you eat.

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You are on a vacation, so you might have a tendency to eat or drink too much or to sample a little bit of everything but take care that you introduce new things slowly and avoid over-consumption. Your best bet to stay healthy during travel is pay some attention to food, water and your body requirements. With some change and proper care, your trip can be an exciting, healthy and rewarding!

Source: CNN

In an age when anyone can buy a projector and throw an unplanned film screening in their backyard, there’s still something powerful about excessive scale when countries like Paris, Chicago and London turns their parks into movie theaters each summer.

La Villette, the largest park in Paris, shows films nightly through Aug. 26. Feature films include both classics such as The Philadelphia Story and more recent releases such as Matchpoint, and Marie Antoinette. The films are shown in their original versions along-with subtitles. You’ll have to shell to around 6.50 euros to rent a chair.

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Chicago Outdoor Film Festival in Grant Park will show movies every Tuesday night through Aug. 28. Admission is free, and the movies begin at sunset.

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In London, courtyard at Somerset House has been turned into a gigantic open-air movie theater. Film buffs can listen to their favorite Johnny Cash songs in Walk the Line, kids can enjoy E.T. the Extra- Terrestrial, or catch the classic Rear Window. Tickets cost £12.50.

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It’s a great time to be out with friends watch some of your favorite movies outdoors. Grab a blanket, pack a picnic and spend nights watching classic movies under the stars. And yes, make sure no to block anybody’s view of the giant screen. Enjoy watching movies outdoors!

Source: The New York Times

The Kiwis call this the great southern land where the sea breeze will wipe you out, the shepherds are quite a sight for the ignorant city folks, and hector’s dolphins surf right next to you. If all this sounds like fun, check out the ‘rugged, windy and cold southern coastline.

Also, an ambitious traveler can circumnavigate the southern coastline while living out of tents. The Catlins are a great spot for these ambitious explorers. The name Catlins gives the visitor an image of a very pristine undisturbed land somewhere in the remote corner of New Zealand. It takes at least a couple of days to explore the entire area.

From Balclutha (off State Highway One), Catalins is a very short drive. En route, Dunedin and Owaka offer some great vistas to the visitors. Although, the road between Christchurch to Dunedin is a boring drive. Please remember one thing though, the wind can be menace. If the wind picks up, it might just blow all your stuff away.

So much for the location. What’s there to do in and around Catalins? Well, here’s your answer. You can go birdwatching in and around the Catalins lake. The lake has excellent picnic spots all around. There’s also the Cathedral caves, which are about a couple of kilometers walk off the parking lot. These are 30 meters high.

The Catalins also offers a blend of coastline, cliffs, and spectacular falls for the visitors. The exotic names like Purakaunui Falls, and Papatowai, attracts a number of folks to the area. There’s also the fabulous Mt.Cook in the neighborhood area that attracts climbers to the area. Another travel advisory: there are no banks or ATMs in the Catlins area. The cell phone reception is pretty weak as well.

But, cell phones and cash are not that important on a vacation right? Although, if I have a pregnant wife along with me I would consider those items important. Anyways, as people say Catlins is more than just a drive. So check out the spectacular Catalinas for the great vistas of Mt.Cook, surfing dolphins of Curio Bay and the awe inspiring scenic drives.

Image Credits: Cathedralcaves, Letstrekaustralia, Ronmertens

Imagine yourself traveling in a flying saucer. Yes, the time is no far when you’ll be commute in a green flying saucer. No more having to sit in an extended cylinder with a couple of wings jutting out, you’ll be able to travel in style in a spaceship shaped flying saucer.

It’s a design from the CleanEra project, aimed at making air travel more environment-friendly by developing an ultra eco-friendly plane that releases 50 percent less carbon dioxide per passenger-mile than current airliners. The flying saucer that promises the reduction of environmental impact could potentially hold up to 800 passengers.

Right now, it’s just in the planning stages so we’ll have to sit tight and wait.

Source: Gadling